Sleep Characteristics in Children and Adolescents with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure - Project Summary/Abstract Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) can lead to a wide range of physical, behavioral, and cognitive impairments referred to as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). The estimated prevalence of FASD is 2-5% of children in the United States, making PAE one of the leading preventable causes of neurodevelopmental disorders. Despite the known damaging effects of PAE, 10% of women in the United States report consuming alcohol during pregnancy; thus, PAE is a major public health concern. Additionally, caregivers of children with PAE often report their child has sleep problems; yet, relatively little is known of sleep quality in this population, whether alterations in circadian rhythmicity contribute to sleep problems, and how sleep quality changes as individuals with PAE enter adolescence. We recently found that children with FASD display greater night-to- night variability in sleep duration, and this night-to-night variability is more pronounced in older children. Further, we found that PAE disturbs expression levels of core clock genes that may be associated with altered sleep cycles and behavioral problems observed in children with PAE. Thus, PAE may greatly impact an individual’s circadian rhythmicity, which plays a role in an individual’s physiological, health, and behavioral functioning. Yet, no studies to date have examined circadian rhythmicity in this population and its relationship to sleep quality and behavior. This study will explore whether altered circadian rhythmicity is a biological mechanism that explains sleep disturbances in children and adolescents with PAE. Additionally, limited studies have explored age-related differences in sleep in individuals with FASD. Particularly, there is a dearth in research investigating whether sleep disturbances persist into adolescence, a critical developmental period marked by important psychophysiological changes in sleep behavior and architecture. This proposal will also examine sleep quality and circadian rhythmicity during adolescence. Moreover, we will investigate whether these behaviors affect cognitive and behavioral functioning in adolescents with PAE, as we have seen that sleep quality mediates aspects of neurobehavioral functioning in children with PAE, including cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning. If sleep problems contribute to difficulties in domains outside of sleep, interventions that target sleep could also improve cognitive and emotional functioning as well. Elucidation of the mechanisms by which PAE alters sleep and understanding how sleep and circadian rhythmicity change across development in individuals with PAE will allow us to develop effective interventions to improve quality of life of individuals with FASD.
